ROANOKE TIMES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, November 6, 1993                   TAG: 9311060185
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JIMMY ROBERTSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium


RAIDERS ROLL ON, 28-15

North Cross gave Lynchburg Christian Academy a dose of its own medicine Friday afternoon.

The Raiders, behind Marcus Cardwell's 180 yards rushing, used a powerful ground game and a punishing defense to defeat the Bulldogs 28-15 in a Virginia Independent Conference football game at North Cross School.

"Everyone kept saying that we had the power and that they had the speed, but the game did not turn out that way," said Scott Allen, Lynchburg Christian's coach. "They gave us a lesson in power football, and you have to give them a lot of credit for what they did."

What North Cross (9-0 overall, 5-0 VIC) did was clinch its third consecutive conference championship and wrap up the home-field advantage throughout the state playoffs.

Just as importantly, the Raiders avenged last season's state championship loss and seized the momentum going into the playoffs.

"I'm really proud of our kids," said Jim Muscaro, North Cross' head coach. "This was a huge game, and we came out and played well."

The Raiders wasted no time. After holding Lynchburg Christian (7-2, 4-1) on downs to halt the Bulldogs' first possession, North Cross took over on its 36-yard line and drove to a touchdown in eight plays. Cardwell went into the end zone on a 4-yard run, then ran for the two-point conversion.

"I thought that our first drive was really important because we realized that we could run on them," Cardwell said. "That drive gave us tremendous confidence and set the tone for the game."

The Raiders jumped on the Bulldogs again in the second quarter. Starting from its 31, North Cross covered 69 yards in 13 plays. The Raiders took more than five minutes off the clock before Monty Smith sprinted in from 29 yards. The conversion kick failed, but North Cross led 14-0.

The Bulldogs countered the Raiders' second touchdown drive with one of their own. Lynchburg Christian went 57 yards in nine plays as Jason Brown scored on a 3-yard run with 44 seconds left in the first half. The extra point cut the Bulldogs' deficit to seven at halftime.

North Cross owned the second half. The Raiders began a drive at their 23 late in third quarter and went 77 yards in nine plays, with Hal Johnson finding Skip Johnson in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown pass with 10 minutes to go in the game. Johnson hit Cardwell for the conversion to give North Cross a 22-7 lead.

"It was a simple flag pattern, and Skip made a great catch, considering he was playing with a cast on his hand," Johnson said.

The Raiders put the game out of reach with five minutes to go when Cardwell scored on a 25-yard run. The two-point conversion pass failed, but North Cross led 28-7.

The Raiders rushed for 249 yards and accumulated 301 yards total offense.

North Cross held ground-oriented the Bulldogs to 71 yards rushing and seven first downs. \

see microfilm for box score



 by CNB